North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>]

Most of those can be pruned to cordons with spurs, though Seneca has to be pruned to canes.  I prefer spurs on cordons as they are easier to prune each year.  However, if you want you can prune all of them to canes, such as the old Kniffen system.  Some varieties like Concord will have slightly larger clusters when trained to canes.  Canes just take more selecting and the system tends to confuse inexperienced growers.  Also, it's easier to overcrop a young vine with canes instead of spurs.
Mushroom compost is fine for young vines, and even older ones if you go light. Young vines need fertility to get them going well, older vines need a little, but not as much.   More important  is keeping the vines watered, or better yet, mulched so they stay moist without wet-dry-wet-dry watering and drying out.  
-Lon Rombough
Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at http://www.bunchgrapes.com  Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003. 
For even more grape lessons, go to  http://www.grapeschool.com
For all other things grape,   http://www.vitisearch.com

On Feb 11, 2008, at 8:52 AM, Sue Christensen wrote:

Last spring I purchased a number of grapes for juice/jam and fresh 
eating.  Despite regular watering, the extended drought may have 
contributed to the very slow growth last year.  Also, an early 
spring-like system led to early budbreak followed by freezes, so I 
lost the initial leaves. This spring, I need to construct a trellis 
to support them and I wondered which type of system you would 
recommend for these varieties: Buffalo, Seneca, Concord, Steuben, 
Cayuga, Sheridan, Red and White Swenson, Jupiter.

I'm in zone 6A PA, so I don't know if the instructions for northern 
planting still apply (2-strand wire fence, prune plant to low-headed 
double trunk).

Also, is it advisable to use aged horse manure or mushroom compost 
with these grapes? I know these varieties are purported to be 
vigorous in nature, but I dug the grape arbor space out of silty loam 
grasslands that are somewhat skimpy in depth of friable organic 
matter. I was wondering if giving them a "boost" at some growth point 
was permissible this year.

Thanks for your advice.
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